


Insufferable Dwarf

by o_rcrist



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, fem!Bilbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:21:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25901995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/o_rcrist/pseuds/o_rcrist
Summary: Bilba has very good aim and Thorin puts his foot in his mouth as usual.
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Comments: 7
Kudos: 323
Collections: Fleur's Beloved fics





	Insufferable Dwarf

**Author's Note:**

> I tried so hard to work on my other unfinished works, but this came out instead.

Bilba had looked forward to this day of rest since they had started their most recent bout of traveling five days earlier. She never thought it would be so tiring to sit on a pony all day long. She rolled her shoulders as she sorted through her belongings and piled up her dirty clothes. She frowned slightly as she looked down at what she was currently wearing. They certainly weren’t as filthy as the clothes in the pile, but they weren’t far off. The ponies kicked up an awful lot of dust and it coated the clothes she wore now. They’d camped near the shore of a small lake thankfully.

She gathered up her clothes and began to make her way towards the lake shore. She didn’t have soap for a thorough cleaning, but she could at least give them a good scrubbing and wring them out.

It seemed she wasn’t the only person who had thought to spend time at the lake. It wasn’t long before she heard shouts that she instantly recognized at Fili and Kili. Sure enough, she soon saw them running through the shallow water, wrestling and throwing each other about as they laughed merrily.

“Bilba!” Dori waved her over to where he was standing knee-deep in the water, his trousers and shirt sleeves rolled up as he shook out what looked like Ori’s sweater. “Drop your clothes with the rest and I’ll get them taken care of for you my dear!”

Bilba hesitated slightly. “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

Dori laughed and motioned for her to drop her clothes. “More than sure. It’s work I enjoy and then you can enjoy your free time today. Does anything need to be mended?”

Bilba smiled in gratitude as she added her clothes to the pile. “Nay, everything is still miraculously intact.”

“Do you want me to wash the clothes you’re wearing as well?” Dori paused for a moment, before cautiously continuing, “I’m about as prim and proper as a dwarf gets, but no one would think twice about you spending today in your underthings while everything is being cleaned. We’re a rowdy bunch, but no one here would do anything untoward.” Dori paused again. “Well except Bofur and Nori. They’ll make jokes but they can take as good as they give, so don’t be afraid to put them in their place.”

Bilba bit her lip for a second as she thought. She knew Dori was watching her carefully, his hands gripping the fabric of Ori’s sweater far tighter than he needed to. Dori had been kind to her so far and they had struck up what Bilba would call a friendship, but he was clearly nervous about what he had said. Well, it was hot and if the dwarves weren’t going to see it as an insult, she would take the opportunity. She released her lip and offered Dori a blinding smile. “Many thanks, Dori. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure of the propriety of dwarves and didn’t want to offend by doing such a thing on my own.”

She quickly stripped out of her shirt and trousers, adding them to the pile as Dori visibly relaxed. “We hobbits are prim and proper, but in the summer it’s not uncommon to see the fauntlings running around half-naked as they run from the small ponds. It’s been a long time since I was able to enjoy a dip in a lake and I’ll take what chances I can get.”

At that Dori laughed. “You may regret that chance. If either of the princes grabs you, poke ‘em in the eye. They tend to forget that not everyone is as rambunctious as they are.” With that, the dwarf waved her off and she cautiously made her way into the water. It was cool, the perfect temperature for what she was soon would be a hot summer day. Hobbits weren’t overly fond of water, but Bilba was an oddity in Hobbit terms, even before she had decided to run off with thirteen dwarves to reclaim a mountain from a blasted dragon. Once she was waist deep, she sunk down into it, scrubbing at her hair to remove the dust and grit that had settled into it over the past few days. It took a couple of dunks, but soon she could feel her hair flowing freely.

She shook her hair out as she walked back toward the shore, bringing it over her shoulder to wring out. Her curls would come back in full force after the washing, so she quickly braided her hair so it might be somewhat manageable later, leaving the end loose since she hadn’t thought to bring a leather thong with her. There were a few large boulders near the shore, the water calmly lapping at them in the gentle breeze.

Fili and Kili were now wresting in deeper water and Ori had appeared at well. He too had stripped down to his underthings and was scribbling away in his journal as he leaned against a nearby boulder. She smiled to herself as she watched the youngest members of the company relax in their own way and hauled herself up onto one of the flatter boulders. She was able to dangle her toes in the water as she laid down on it, the warm rock feeling like a balm to the sore muscles in her back.

The rising temperature soon had the rest of the dwarves seeking respite near the lake, all of them stripping down to the bare minimum of clothing. She suspected that they would have stripped down to their skin if she hadn’t been there, but that was neither here nor there.

“What are you doing?”

Bilba cracked her eyes open to find Bofur smiling down at her mischievously.

“Enjoying doing nothing.”

“Nothing? Well, it’s time to change that.”

And with that Bofur scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder as he waded back out in the water. Bilba shrieked in surprise, smacking as his head and bare back. “Bofur! Put me down this instant!”

“If you insist.”

And with that she was tossed into the air, Bilba letting out another shriek before another set of arms caught her. She cracked her eyes open to find it was Nori who had caught her, his smile even worse than Bofurs as he snickered. “Technically he did put you down.”

Bilba smacked as his chest. “You and I have very different definitions of the word ‘down.’” She smacked him upside the head and scrambled out of his hold. She landed in the water with a small splash, her hands easily finding a small stone in the sandy lakebed before she stood back up.

Nori was grinning like a cat while Dori shook his head behind him. “Oi! Behave you rascal. She’s respectable, unlike you.”

“Oh, how you wound me, brother.”

Nori made a dramatic face as he fell backward into the water, floating lazily once he surfaced. Bofur was still grinning and made grabby hands as he tried to approach her. She thought for a second then shrugged. Dori had said they could take as good as they gave after all. With lightning speed, she threw the rock, smacking Bofur right on the forehead.

Bofur sputtered as he fell back into the water, while the rest of the company roared with laughter.

She grinned as she crouched to pick up another rock. “Try again you scoundrel.”

The miner rubbed as the red mark on his forehead. “Scoundrel? Oh, you wound me, lass.”

Bilba laughed as she tossed the small rock in her hand. “I’m small, but I can hold my own if I need to.”

“I’ll say.” Nori was standing next to her, an assortment of rocks in his hand. “Care to give a demonstration?”

Bofur scrambled out of the water and hid behind Bombur as Bilba looked at Nori carefully. “What’s the target?”

Nori thought for a second, then pointed to the boots strewn about on the shore. “Every other boot.”

Bilba smirked. To easy. Each rock hit its mark and Nori’s grin seemed to get impossibly wider.

“Ori’s journal.”

“Hey!”

“Fili’s left thigh.”

“OW!”

“Dwalin’s right knuckleduster.”

“THIEF!”

Bilba was certain that Nori could go all day with the challenges, but he was out of rocks and she felt that she had made her point.

“Where did you learn to throw like that?” Nori asked and Bilba could swear there was honest amazement in his voice.

Bilba shrugged nonchalantly. “Conkers. I also enjoyed target games as a child. The skill never left.”

Dwalin was watching Nori and he could see the thief practically vibrating with glee. He had a feeling he knew was Nori was thinking and he wasn’t about to stop it. The girl needed a proper way to defend herself after all. Didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Nori,” he growled, “You are not training her to be an assassin.”

Bilba stared at Dwalin in disbelief. “A-assassin?! I think not!”

Nori glared at the guardsman. Trust Dwalin to ruin a good idea before he’d even tried it out. By Mahal though, if he’d been able to train Bilba from childhood, she’d be the most feared woman on this side of the Misty Mountains. Maybe on both sides if he tried hard enough.

He turned back to Bilba. “Trust me, if I’d had the chance, I would have taken you on in an instant to train you for that. Ignoring that lost opportunity- “

Dwalin growled dangerously, crossing his arms over his chest as he continued to glare at Nori.

Nori rolled his eyes. “I would like to test your skill with throwing knives.” His grin faltered for a second when he paused. “We’re out in the Wilds now, and the better you can protect yourself, the safer you’ll be. Throwing knives are something I think you could pick up quickly.”

Bilba looked to Dwalin briefly and the old dwarf nodded. “You won’t find a better teacher.”

“Oi! I’m standing right here!” Fili yelled out in exasperation.

“Then you won’t mind lending us your knives for practice,” Nori told him. “You’re trained as a warrior, not as one who is not meant to be seen.”

Fili stuck his tongue out at Nori in response. The thief blew him a kiss and clapped his handed together excitedly. “Excellent. How would you feel starting after lunch? With the skill you showed, I think- “

“No.”

The voice was quiet but commanded everyone’s attention. As one, the company turned to look at Thorin, who up until now has been silent during all of this. He stood up, glaring at all three of them. Bilba took half a step backward but was stopped by a hand in the small of her back. Flicking her eyes to Nori, the thief gave her a small shake of his head. _Hold your ground_.

She nodded back and took what she hoped was a confident stance.

“No what?” She asked Thorin, doing her best to keep her tone light. Thorin was an easily irritable dwarf and she didn’t want to antagonize him.

“Nori is not teaching you to throw knives.”

“And why not?”

“I don’t need you hurting yourself while pretending to be a trained warrior.”

Bilba glared at Thorin. Did he think she was a _child_?

“You would send me in defenseless, against a _dragon_?” She asked, her temper already rising. Was Thorin really that thick?

“Gandalf said that hobbits are light on their feet. Move quickly and it won’t catch you.”

Yavanna above, he really was that thick.

“Do you realize how dumb you sound?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, but she couldn’t say she regretted them. “You don’t think it would be even somewhat useful for me to learn how to use a weapon for when I have to enter the dragons' lair?”

A big hand landed on her shoulder, gently squeezing it. “Thorin, she needs to learn to use a weapon at some point. It’s only a matter of time before we’ll come across those who would wish us harm. She’ll need to be able to defend herself.”

Thorin switched his glare from Bilba to Dwalin. “It’s a waste of time. She’ll never have the skill to save herself.”

“So, you’d rather I die than try?”

Bilba’s words were soft, but the anger in them was as sharp as any knife. Her eyes were full of fire as Nori took her hand.

“You’d rather I just sit there, defenseless, helpless, and hope that one of you can get to me in time? You’d rather I ask one of you to put yourselves in danger to save me when I can learn to save myself?”

The glare she leveled at Thorin could have set the entire forest around them to flame. “What kind of backward, pig-headed, arrogant belief is that? I doubt you would say such a thing to your sister.”

The grip on her shoulder tightened approvingly and Thorin finally seemed to realize his misstep. He hadn’t realized that she’d known about his family. Hobbit ears were remarkably adept at picking up noise and she’d heard the princes talking about their mother bossing Thorin around. It was an amusing picture her head, this strong dwarven woman bringing Thorin down a peg. Or a few. At this point, he needed to be brought down about a dozen.

“Dwarven women aren’t as fragile as hobbit women,” Thorin growled out lowly.

Nori let go of her hand and she let the rock fly.

It hit Thorin right in the jaw, the projectile knocking him back into the water. She stormed over to him, glaring down at him as he pushed his wet hair out of his face and coughed up water.

“At least I’m not as fragile as a dwarven kings’ ego.” And with that, she stormed out of the water and away from Thorin OakenASS.

“You blasted hobbit!”

“Insufferable dwarf!”

She went over to one of the larger boulders near the water’s edge, purposefully turning and making eye contact with Thorin as she picked up a few small rocks. The idiot was rubbing at his jaw and she smiled sweetly when he flinched at her glare.

It was easy enough to climb up the boulder with them, tossing them in her hand as she stared out over the water. Thorin was an idiot and she wasn’t about to let him completely ruin her day. Closing her eyes, she took some calming breathes, tuning out everything happening around her except for the sound of the water. It took a little longer than she was willing to admit, but she finally pushed Thorin’s words from her mind, letting the calm wash over her. She opened her eyes again and let the rock in her hand fall into her lap.

She looked back over at where the Company was on the shore and was immensely satisfied to see Dwalin and Nori glaring at Thorin, who was looking properly chagrined.

Good.

She smiled softly as she grabbed at her braid, looking back out over the water. It had been a surprise to see Dwalin come to her defense. As best she could tell, he and Thorin were thick as thieves. It helped that they were cousins of course, but they may as well have been brothers. They were rarely far from each other, usually exchanging surly looks or rolling eyes at the daily shenanigans of the company.

She hadn’t interacted with the guardsman…well, at all now that she thought about it. Thorin had made it clear that he was only allowing her on this adventure because of Gandalf. She knew where she wasn’t welcome, so she had taken to avoiding him for the most part, which meant she hadn’t been around Dwalin either.

Nori hadn’t been that much of a surprise. Even if he hadn’t liked her, Nori seemed to the kind of person who got his entertainment out of riling up others. The dwarf was far too clever for his own good, so when he was bored, mischief soon followed.

She heard footsteps approaching behind her, discreetly picking up the rock in her lap as she looked over her shoulder. Bofur held up his hands in surrender, his trademark grin on his face. “I know when I’m beat lassie. Mind if I join you up there?”

Bilba smiled in return. “Of course.”

Bofur scrambled up next to her, eyeing the rock in her hand warily. She rolled her eyes and chucked it out into the water. Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, Bofur humming a merry tune as they enjoyed the view together. The silence was almost comforting. The dwarves were a merry bunch, but by Yavanna they were also a loud bunch. There hadn’t been a moment of silence since she’d joined them. Even when they slept, they were loud, farts, and snoring coming in abundance from all of them. She assumed that Bofur had something to say to her, but for now, she would wait.

“Don’t listen to him.”

The words were soft but firm.

“Thorin…well, he’s an idiot quite frankly and this isn’t the first time he’s put his foot in his mouth. You didn’t hear, but Dwalin and Nori tore him a new one right after you walked away. You know you messed up with they both agree on something.”

Bilba picked up another stone, fidgeting with it as she mulled over Bofurs words. She knew what the miner was trying to do. With all of them traveling in tight quarters, it would be an unpleasant few days together if she and Thorin were visibly angry with each other. He was asking, in his own way, for her to be the adult.

“Why do you follow him?” She asked quietly. “Dwalin, Balin, Gloin, the boys, them I understand. But you, I don’t know why you and your family do. A share of gold only goes so far when you’re facing a fire breathing dragon.”

Bofur shrugged, his trademark grin disappearing as he pulled at one of his pigtails. “There is no one reason I follow him. It’s a lot of reasons rolled up into one.”

“Like what?” If Bofur was going to ask her to forgive Thorin, she needed to know why he was following the dwarf.

“The gold for one.” He gestured at himself. “My family, we’re tinkers and toymakers, nothing special. We’ve known our share of suffering, gone hungry, all of that. Erebor is our chance at a stable home, of never needing to think about money. We’ll never go hungry again.”

Bofur rubbed at his face. “Thorin is a stubborn dwarf. He can be rude, arrogant, and you’ll want to punch him in the face more than once. But he’s also the kindest, most loyal dwarf you’ll ever meet in your life. He’s one of us. After Erebor was lost, he took to working wherever he could find work, taking abuse from men to make sure he could feed his own family. He went hungry more than once to make sure those lads went to bed with a full stomach.”

Bilba took Bofurs hand, gently squeezing it.

“We Broadbeams, we’re a common family, but Thorin never treated us as anything but friends. I like to think it’s because many of the noble families abandoned the Ereborian refugees after the Fall. Once the kingdom was taken, their gold gone, they felt no loyalty towards Thror and left them to die.”

“Loyalty, honor, and a willing heart,” Bilba said quietly. Bofur nodded in agreement. “I heard him say that in Bag-End. That he could ask for no more than that.”

“He’s spent that last one hundred and fifty years shouldering the weight of far too many dwarves. He values those things above all else.”

Bilba nodded. “I can see why. And I can see now why he’s not overly fond of me. I’m the antithesis of everything he has ever done. I’m a visual reminder of the life of plenty and kindness that was denied him when the dragon took Erebor.”

“He’s fond of you lass, he’ll just never admit it.”

Bilbo nearly twisted her neck with how quickly she looked at Bofur. The miner seemed to realize he’d let something slip that he shouldn’t, his face turning quite the shade of red.

“What?!”

Bofur went even redder, rubbing at his face with his hands as he cursed quietly.

“Bofur!”

They jumped at the call of his name, and Bofur had never looked more relieved to hear Nori yelling for him. The miner scrambled off the boulder, falling into the water in his haste to get away from Bilba before she could question him further.

“Dwarves,” she grumbled, chucking the rock at Bofur half-heartedly as he made his escape. She’d get a hold of him later to figure out what he meant.

~~~

Turns out, Bofur could avoid someone like the plague when he really wanted to. She could not pin that blasted dwarf down for the life of her.

Two days had passed since the lake incident, Bilba and Thorin choosing to ignore each other’s presence for the most part. The company had decided to steer clear of their domestic, carrying on as if it hadn’t happened and hoping they wouldn’t be pulled into it.

Bilba was sitting in the grass next to Ori while they waited for the dwarves who had gone to a nearby village to purchase supplies. Nori had encouraged her to go with them, but she refused to go near the village of men. Not because she was afraid of them, but because the blasted morons didn’t seem to realize that she a _hobbit_. Men had a very bad habit of thinking she was a human child and treated her as such. She decided to save herself that trouble, instead handing over a few coins to Nori with the plea of purchasing her a handkerchief if he didn’t mind.

She hadn’t missed the looks of disbelief the others had given her when she’d handed the coins over to their resident thief, but she didn’t care. While Nori was a thief, she’d found him to be an honest dwarf and she trusted him completely to do her this favor.

It had been a quiet, dull few hours. Thorin had put Kili and Fili on pony duty for scaring her the night before, so the camp had been quiet since he had departed with the others to the village.

As she picked at the grass, she thought back to the night before and what Balin had said. She had known that Thorin had lost much in his life, but she hadn’t known until last night just how much he had lost. His grandfather, father, and little brother, all in a matter of hours. She couldn’t even begin to think how many of his friends had likely fallen in the battle at Moria, but she assumed it was many. From what Balin described, the battle had been a complete bloodbath, a suicide mission until Thorin had rallied the dwarves in one final push.

The pain in Thorin’s eyes last night had been raw and fresh, never mind that this battle had happened over a century before.

_There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King._

Balin's words echoed in her ears. She understood now why they all followed Thorin without question. He had gone where no other dwarf had dared to go. He had led his people to victory, as fruitless as it may have been. He had put them all first, above his own safety.

He always put others first.

She just hadn’t noticed it.

He was the last to eat every day, waiting until everyone else had their food before taking his share. The last to sleep but always first to rise. Leading them every day, but always looking back to make sure they were all there. He kept a careful eye on his nephews of course, but his watchful gaze fell on everyone, the concern in them barely hidden. He cared about them all.

He was just terrible at showing it.

Bilba groaned, putting her hands in her face.

The insufferable dwarf.

She’d felt sympathy for him last night, the anger subsiding as she’d absorbed Balin's words. It had irritated her. She wanted to be angry at Thorin. He’d been rude to her, a complete ass. But she was finding that she understood where that rudeness came from and blast it all she couldn’t be angry at him for trying to protect her in his own stupid way.

She fell back into the grass, looking up at the blue sky. It was nearly the same color as Thorin’s eyes _and when the hell had she realized what color his eyes were_?

Insufferable dwarf.

She’d give him until tonight to offer an apology. It’d been two days, surely his sense of honor would compel him to do something tonight. If he decided to be a stubborn ass, then she’d finally be the bigger person and apologize tomorrow. Maybe. She knew there was a betting pool going on in the company right now, the odds saying that she’d be the first one to apologize. She knew for a fact that Bofur had money on her apologizing first and she wouldn’t mind seeing the miner lose a few coins after conveniently dodging her for the past few days.

Thorin and the others needed to get back already.

So, when her ears picked up the sound of people approaching, she stood up and tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. The dwarves weren’t as trusting as she was, picking up their weapons as they focused on the direction she was looking. Bilba couldn’t help but roll her eyes. For her, it was all too easy to identify the steps of the approaching dwarves. Dwalin and Thorin were doing their usual stomping while Nori’s tread was lighter and more cautious. Gloin had firmer footsteps, something he did so that Oin could hear him approaching.

The four dwarves were soon in sight, the dwarves all relaxing once they recognized their friends and dropping their weapons. Bilba bounced on her feet, hoping that Nori had been successful. The thief had a grin on his face that grew impossibly wider when he saw her. He bounded over, stopping just in front of her and bordering on invading her personal space.

“I have a surprise for you Mistress Hobbit.”

“Please tell me you were able to get me a handkerchief,” she asked, not sure what kind of surprise could make Nori this giddy.

Nori laughed. “You asked for that, so that isn’t a surprise.” He pulled a square of fabric from his pocket and handed it over to her. She looked at the thief suspiciously as she took the fabric, realizing it was far too heavy to just be a handkerchief. She unfolded the fabric before looking up at Nori in surprise.

“Knives?”

“Throwing knives!” You’d have thought it was Yule with how excited Nori was. “Dwarven make, so you’ll find no better before we reach the Mountain.”

Bilba sputtered, her hands grasping the small bundle tightly. “How did you get these?”

“Fairly,” Nori answered and jerked his thumb towards Dwalin. “You think grumpy McGee over there would have let me nick those? Consider them a gift lass. You need weapons of your own and these are just right for you.”

Bilba looked down at the blades in her hands, taking a deep breath. Nori offering to train her and doing it were two different things. She’d never maliciously harmed another person in her life, and she couldn’t even consider taking the life of one now.

“We’re in the Wilds now, Bilba,” Nori said quietly. “We’ll all feel better if you can protect yourself. Even his royal gruffness, though he won’t admit it. I wouldn’t have gotten these for you if I didn’t think you could do it.”

Bilba looked up at Nori and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Nori,” she whispered back, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She’d felt Nori’s hesitation for a second before he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back just as tightly.

Unknown to Bilba since she couldn’t see him, but Thorin looked ready to murder Nori. The thief gave him a wicked grin, which got him a very rude gesture by dwarven standards in response. Dwalin rolled his eyes and cuffed Thorin upside the head.

“You’re the one who won’t talk to her,” the guardsmen lowly growled. “You owe her an apology, not the other way around.”

“She threw a rock at my head!”

“You’ve been hit with worse by your own damn sister. And if you keep staring at her that way Dori’s going to poke your eyes out with his needles. Honestly, you’d think you’d never seen a half-clothed woman before…”

With that Dwalin walked away, calling for Fili and Kili to bring over the ponies’ packs so they could sort the supplies.

Thorin groaned, dropping his own supplies near his bedroll and rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

He looked back over at Bilba and Nori. The thief was showing her how to wear the knives, instructing her on how to place them and secure them until they were needed. He took a deep breath as Nori help Bilba strap a sheath to each of her thighs. Blasted dwarf. He nearly saw red when Nori attached one to a belt and wrapped it around her hips.

He walked away, grumbling about the impropriety. How dare Nori take such advantage of his burglar? Bilba ought to stab Nori in the hand for such a transgression. His blood just about boiled when he heard Bilba laugh at something Nori said.

“For fucks sake, one look and you’re acting like a horny teenager all over again.”

Thorin glared at Dwalin, the dwarf showing absolutely zero remorse for what he said. Instead, he was giving Thorin the most shit-eating grin he’d ever seen in his life. He didn’t like it.

“Nori is- “

“Being a friend, you prat. When was the last time you ever saw Nori take care of someone that wasn’t his own blood? Are you really going to stop him from being a decent dwarf? And I can assure you, Nori has no interest in Bilba in that way. Keep acting this way though and he’ll have a way to entertain himself all the way to Erebor.”

“Nori- “

“Has done nothing wrong and is being a highly respectable dwarf before you try to go that route. Why don’t you just admit that you like the girl?

“I do not- “

“Really? Because the way you were looking at her at the lake said otherwise. You’re damn lucky she didn’t notice either, or I’m sure that stone would have hit a much more delicate part of your anatomy.”

Thorin glared Dwalin, his rage all over his face. Dwalin shrugged his shoulders and continued to sort supplies. “Talk to her before the rest of them jump down your throat.”

“Since when did you start to like her?” Thorin ignored how childish the question was.

Dwalin paused, looking over to Bilba. His normally hard expression went soft as he murmured, “When she ran after us even after we left her behind. We were all rude to her that night, making a mess, causing trouble. She had every right to refuse to help us. Instead, she came running after us and pledged herself to the company.” He gave Thorin a look, “to _your_ company. She’s doesn’t belong out here, but I respect her for tryin’. And you should too.”

“She doesn’t belong out here. It’s dangerous.”

“The whole company would agree with you on that, but she’s a stubborn lass. She’s not about to let us leave her behind after she pledged herself to this madness.”

They were both quiet for a few minutes, Thorin grumbling under his breath as he tried to ignore Dwalin glaring.

“She needs to learn how to sharpen those blades properly.”

“What?”

Dwalin gave Thorin a look that was usually reserved for when he thought Thorin was being incredibly dense and slowly repeated, “She needs to learn how to sharpen those blades properly.”

Thorin looked up and prayed to Mahal for strength.

The light was slowly disappearing, but there was still time enough. Groaning, Thorin went back over to his pack and dug out his whetstone and the spare. Bilba was sitting on the grass near the fire, Nori dancing one of her knives over his fingers. Thorin walked over to them, Nori handing Bilba the knife and giving Thorin a grin before making himself scarce.

“Master Dwarf.” The words were sharp, and he winced slightly. He supposed he did deserve that.

He held out his whetstone to her, which she cautiously took. He really hoped she wouldn’t throw it at him. He was still nursing the bruise on his jaw. “I thought you might like to learn how to sharpen those properly. A dull blade is a dangerous blade.”

Bilba’s features softened slightly as she looked at him. With a pang, he realized that she had been expecting him to yell at her. Great. He sat down on the ground next to her, attempting to make himself look as least menacing as possible, holding his hand out for the blade still in her hand. She silently handed it over to him and he quietly began to instruct her on how to sharpen the blade correctly. She was quiet but attentive. He did the first blade for her, handing it back to her and motioning to his whetstone in her hand.

“Show me what you’ve learned.”

Bilba nodded, pulling the blades out from their hiding spots one by one and sharpening them to Thorin’s approval. Teaching her reminded him of when he had taught Fili and Kili all those years ago, and it was, well, comforting to do it again. She was a good student, paying diligent attention to his instructions and following them almost flawlessly. She only needed minor corrections in her form, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d known she was clever but had stupidly assumed it wouldn’t translate to weaponry. He rubbed at his bruised jaw, wincing at the reminder of the lesson he’d learned that day.

He pretended he didn’t notice the smirk on Bilba’s face.

Bilba for her part had recognized the olive branch being offered to her. She had been hesitant at first, but she’d soon realized that this was the dwarf’s way of apologizing. Not exactly the apology she’d been hoping for, but it was a genuine attempt to apologize to her. She supposed she’d let him slide on this one. The knowledge was useful and there was no one better to learn from in the company, save maybe Dwalin. She’d have plenty of time to teach him proper manners anyway.

The sun was just setting as she finished sharpening her knives, handing the last one over to Thorin for inspection. He nodded in approval and she sheathed it behind her back.

“Make sure you take that belt off when you sleep,” Thorin said warningly. “You could accidentally stab yourself if it comes loose and you roll the wrong way. Sleep with it beside you instead.”

Bilba nodded as she stood up, offering her hand to the Thorin to help him up. Raising his eyebrow in surprise, he took her outstretched hand and she helped him up with surprising strength. She didn’t let go of his hand once he was standing, looking him in the eye carefully. He held her gaze, waiting for his judgment.

“You’re still an ass, but I forgive you. And thank you for teaching me.” With that she let go of his hand and walked away, leaving Thorin before he could say anything in return.

He heard Dwalin snort behind him, and he rounded on his friend, hissing “What’s so funny?”

“You’re both hopeless.”

“Piss off.”


End file.
